BACKGROUND

Education

I received my B.A. degree from Northwestern University with a major in English and minor in music. I started out my career as a high school teacher in Alabama and, after two years of teaching English and music, I moved to Washington and obtained my Master of Music Degree in choral conducting at the University of Washington. I continued to teach in the Seattle and Bellevue Schools, returning to UW in 1985 to get a second master’s degree in Educational Psychology with emphasis on school psychology and counseling.

School Psychology

After obtaining my Ed. Psych. degree, I started working as a school psychologist and counselor in the Bellevue School District, serving as lead psychologist for the district, chairing staff meetings and acting as consultant to the staff psychologists. During my years as a school psychologist I worked with a broad variety of school populations—preschool, elementary, middle, high school, special education resource inclusion, and self-contained special education programs (including the developmentally disabled). I am credentialed as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP).

Learning Needs Assessments

Part of my duties at the school district involved conducting assessments on children with learning disabilities, mental retardation, motor and language impairments, ADHD, PDD, hyperlexia, autism spectrum disorders, and other health impairments. I assessed the learning needs of non-English speaking and ESL students from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds and conducted testing for gifted programs and early entry into kindergarten.

School Counseling

As an elementary school counselor, I led counseling groups that supported students dealing witth issues such as parents' divorce, anger management, friendship skills, and interpersonal problem solving. I also worked with individual students and consulted with parents and teachers to address students' emotional needs.

Doctoral Training and Teaching

In 1995 I returned to the University of Washington to begin work on a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. While pursuing my doctorate, I continued my school psychology and counseling work in the Bellevue School District, taught a required five-credit Intellectual Assessment class for master’s degree students at UW, supervised practicum training for counseling students in a counseling laboratory at UW, co-led parenting groups under a UW research program, "The Incredible Years" parenting program, and worked as a research assistant under Dr. Virgnia Berninger at UW’s Learning Disabilities Center.

Internships

I completed a pre-doctoral internship at Seattle’s Children’s Hospital, where I worked in the PKU, Sickle Cell, HIV and Congenital Hypothyroid clinics doing assessments and consultation. In addition I performed general neuropsychological assessments in the Psychiatry Department. I assisted with neuropsychological assessments of children with seizure disorders and brain tumors and observed brain surgeries in the Neurology Department.

Ph.D. Emphasis

My Educational Psychology Ph.D. was awarded in 2004, with emphasis in School Psychology, Child Development, Reading Disability and Neuropsychology. The title of my dissertation was "Effects of Prior Attention Training and a Composition Curriculum with Attention Bridges for Students with Dyslexia and/or Dysgraphia." My cumulative graduate school GPA was over 3.9.

In 2006, I completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD), a branch of the UW Medical Center. My training included assessment of a wide variety of developmental disorders such as learning disabilities, mental retardation, autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, behavior disorders, and related health conditions. In additon, I participated in developmental assessments for children who were high-risk infants and for children with possible Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Current Professional Pursuits

Presently, in my private practice in Seattle and Bellevue, I see chiildren, adolescents, and young adults for educational testing, consulting, and counseling. I work with their parents and schools to develop productive and supportive parenting and educational strategies. In addition, I work as a member of the multi-disciplinary diagnostic team on the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Diagnostic and Prevention Network at the University of Washington Medical Center.

Musical Avocation

In my spare time I continue performing and conducting various types of music. I sing vocals and play stand-up bass in a professional bluegrass band, The Fossils, play bass in Thalia Symphony Orchestra, sing in the Seattle Bach Choir, direct a church children’s choir, and sing solos in choirs and at weddings.